Research Highlights Advances in Management and Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Highlights of the 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium

Sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American
Society for Radiation Oncology, and the Society of Urologic Oncology

This three-day multidisciplinary symposium is your best opportunity to learn about the newest strategies in prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of genitourinary cancers. Expanding on The Prostate Cancer Symposium, this new symposium offers educational sessions and abstract oral and poster presentations focused on cancers of the testis, bladder, kidney and prostate organs.

Dutasteride Helps Slow Early-Stage
Prostate Cancer Growth
A new study has shown that a drug
commonly used to treat men with an
enlarged prostate gland – dutasteride
(Avodart®) – may also slow the growth
of early-stage prostate cancer among
men participating in active surveillance
of their disease.

“In some cases, we treat prostate
cancer that may never become lifethreatening.
I’m hoping that these
results, showing that men may be
able to take a drug that slows the cancer’s
growth, may allow more men
to pursue active surveillance for even
longer periods,” said lead author Neil
Fleshner, md, Head of Urology at the
University Health Network in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, and the Love Chair
in Prostate Cancer Prevention at the
Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

Proficiency in Robotic-Assisted
Prostate Surgery Requires
Experienced Specialists
In a study to determine the surgical
learning curve for robotic-assisted laparoscopic
radical prostatectomy (RALP)
operations, a retrospective analysis
showed that it took more than 1,600
prostate cancer surgeries for surgeons
to become proficient at the RALP procedure
and be able to remove the cancerous
prostate consistently with its edges clear
of cancer. RALP is a relatively new
technology that has several advantages
over typical laparoscopic surgery.

“The robotic platform has been
shown to take less training time to learn
to safely perform prostate cancer surgery
compared to its open and laparoscopic
surgery counterparts, but we see that
becoming an expert at the robotic operation
takes much longer than just simply
developing a base level of competence,”
said lead author Prasanna Sooriakumaran,
MD, PhD, a visiting fellow in
Urology at the Weill Cornell Medical
College in New York. “Our results
show that it is possible to get good
cancer cure rates and low surgical margins
with this operation, but it takes a
significant amount of experience.”

Study Shows Reduced Risk of
Prostate Cancer Death for Men
with Low Initial PSAs
A large prostate cancer screening
study showed that an initial prostatespecific
antigen (PSA) score of 3.0 ng/ml
appears to be an appropriate minimum
cut-off level to determine the need for
biopsy. Few men in the study with low
first-time PSAs below 3.0 developed
prostate cancer and died from the disease.
The findings may help better
target testing for those at risk.

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This article was published in Coping® with Cancer magazine,
March/April
2011.